Sleepyhead - Mark Billingham

Mark Billingham's debut is actually in some ways a slightly better novel than his follow-up but still lacks a bit of the depth of character that books like these really need to establish a series. This time around, we get to see how D.I Thorne and D.C Holland first came together as they investigate a series of gruesome murders that turn out to be botched attempts to put young women into comatose states. Allison Willetts is one of his first victims and the only "success" to date suffering as she now is with "locked-in" syndrome- able to percieve things happening around her but suffering a paralysis so severe that even blinking ...  Read the complete review

'Sleepyhead' was Mark Billingham's debut as a crime writer and was received very well. I have enjoyed the novel, but I think that it had a lot of faults of the typical debut - I have now read the other instalments of the series and there are better ones out there, my favourite being 'Scaredy Cat' (this was one that really scared me and it's not an easy feat for a pop-book!). 'Sleepyhead' is a serial-killer novel, set in the contemporary London and featuring DI Tom Thorne as the main character. Thorne is one of your typical fictional detectives: a hardened but sensitive copper, pig headed, stubborn and generally very good at what he's doing and ...  Read the complete review

Alison Willetts lies in a hospital bed, able to see, hear and feel but not to move or communicate. The police team investigating her case soon identify Alison as the victim of a serial killer who has murdered several women in a similar way. Alison seems to be his first failure. However, Detective Inspector Tom Thorne isn't so sure. He believes that Alison's condition, referred to as Locked In Syndrome, was the real aim of the killer, and that the woman in the hospital bed is his first success. This is the premise of Mark Billingham's first novel, an impressive debut ...  Read the complete review

I read my first Mark Billingham book, actually number five in the Tom Thorne series, a couple of months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Having heard from several people that his first four books were even better, I was really looking forward to reading this. As a huge fan of crime fiction, I'm always glad to find another good author, and Mark Billingham is certainly one of those. This is his first book featuring Tom Thorne. A sharp-eyed psychologistnotes that the death of a number of young stroke victims may not be the coincidence that it first appeared to be. Then the fourth victim, Alison, survives, although she is unable to speak or move in anyway, suffering ...  Read the complete review

As a fan of crime fiction I am drawn towards the dark streets of America. There is something about the size of the country and the ability to own a gun that makes it seem more dangerous to me. Crime noir fits perfectly into a world of drug trafficking, slang and machine guns - not so well into landed gentry, cups of tea and the ability to queue. Although the UK may seem quaint compared to our larger friend across the water, this is a fact that increasingly not true. Knives and guns are on the street and what's worse is that there are an increasing amount of people out there willing to use them. Crime Noir is ripe for a UK revival and perhaps in Mark Billingham we ...  Read the complete review